A Strange Vacation
by ChocolateCherryGenesis
Summary: Before becoming Sixth Hokage, Naruto takes a vacation to the Outside World to sooth his memories of the Fourth Ninja World War. It is just his usual luck that he runs into a helmet-guy with a cheap rip-off of the Shadow Clone Techinque while he was strolling through Germany. And what's with the people in Halloween costumes? And SHEILD? Perhaps he'll need backup after all . . .
1. I Need A Vacation Badly

**Story**: A Strange Vacation

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Naruto_ or the _Avengers_.

**Author**: ChocolateCherryGenesis

**Summary**: Before becoming Sixth Hokage, Naruto takes a vacation to the Outside World to sooth his memories of the Fourth Ninja World War. It is just his usual luck that he runs into a helmet-guy with a cheap rip-off of the Shadow Clone Techinque while he was strolling through Germany. And what's with the people in Halloween costumes? And SHEILD? Perhaps he'll need backup after all . . .

**Published**: Thursday, January 3, 2013

**Notes**: Since Sakura died (in this fanfiction), I had to have someone take the place of her personality in the group –– I chose Yamanaka Ino. For those who complain that she's out of character, that's why. Sai is even more out of character because I haven't read or watched anything with him as a character in a really long time. When the time comes, this story'll get serious (I hope), but I must be in some really silly mood because no matter what I write, it always comes out as really sucky comedy. Also: I usually proofread my stuff before I publish it, but this is only my first draft. Therefore, everything is horrible –– grammar, plot, and word variety. You have been, officially, warned. If any of my reviewers address an issue, I will attempt to fix it if I believe it needs fixing. Speaking of which, I am desperate for constructive criticism and I'm very hard to insult, so point out every single thing you think I messed up! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter One**

I Need A Vacation. Badly.

* * *

A young man with wild blond hair covered by a brown traveling cloak looked down with wise blue eyes to the village below him. He sat with his legs folded on one of the heads of the Hokage Monument –– or, more specifically, on the head of the Forth Hokage's place in the Monument –– and watched. Even from this distance, his eyes could clearly see many details on the buildings and people below.

The buildings still had remnants of metal armor on the sides facing the walls, especially covering houses here and there so that they were gray-colored safe zones in case of invasion. Fences were strewn with old, bent shuriken and kunai, useless for any other purpose but to give enemies injuries –– no matter how small and insignificant. In spite of these obvious signs of recent, cruel war, the streets were strewn with bright colored banners the places that he once had holes were patched up and various pretty, eye-catching murals had been painted by random people on their walls. This was not a village that was struck by war, but a village that had been struck by war and was now celebrating the end of it.

Those who were ninja had Forehead Protectors either proudly worn on the forehead or stitched onto clothes. After the Ninja War ended, those who were lower ranked once again polished their Forehead Protectors until they shined brightly in the light, catching his attention. Those who were higher ranked and still working on Missions that took them outside the walls had their Forehead Protectors instead waxed with the juice of a berry that –– while not harming the metal –– caused the Forehead Protectors to not reflect light at all, so that their hiding places would not be betrayed by a fickle ray of light. Even these, though, were visible to the young man, which was acceptable within these safe walls.

Those without either a polished or waxed Forehead Protector were the Civilians, who thankfully rarely saw war, and whose numbers had been barely touched by the losses the Ninjas had suffered . . . The young man shook his head as memories of the Ninja War returned with a vengeance, pounding into his skull like a regiment of Tobi's finest mind-controlled troops.

_"Sakura!"_

_She was covered with blood –– it was red, not the bright color of her shirt but a thick reminder of how fragile the life of Ninja –– the life of a soldier –– was. As he lifted her so that she could breathe easier, she lifted a hand and placed it on his arm to sooth him, staining his lower left arm with the crimson liquid. "It's all right; I'm going to see Lady Tsunade now."_

_"You can't die, Sakura! Stay strong! I'll get you to the medic tent!"_

_She gave a small laugh. "I'm the best medic-nin you've got, silly. Don't you think I would know if I'll make it?"_

_"You've gotta try!" he called frantically. Tears dropped from his eyes. "You gotta try, Sakura! Please!"_

_"Don't you ever . . . give up . . . your . . . dream . . ." she said. Her eyes closed, black lashes meeting fair skin and elegant hand dropping with an echoing thunk to the ground. Complete silence._

**_"SAKURA!"_**

Those who had heard his grief filled scream through the war-torn forest barely recognized it. For such a closely-knit squad as Team 7, the death of any member was more than just the death of a coworker or an ally or a comrade or even a friend –– it was the death of family, of someone who understood the deepest corners of one's heart.

The young man opened his eyes and gasped, not seeing the dark forest but instead momentarily blinded by the sunny, happy day, filled with the sounds of distant people bustling about their business and cherishing those who had survived. One hand flew to his forehead, the other attaching to the stone and sticking there with chakra so that he would not fall the hundreds of feet down to the ground before he recovered.

These dreams, these flashes of memory . . . They kept plaguing his thoughts more and more often. It was difficult to find peaceful moments when he could deal with this. Even now, he could sense three ANBU Black Ops members guarding him –– two at the bottom of the Monument and another at the top.

"Naruto . . ."

The young man blinked, looking upwards at Kakashi-sensei with a questioning look. The silver-haired ninja had a Dog mask on his face, on account of many of the greatest ANBU having died in the War, being the greatest warriors. Kakashi was one of the only truly strong ninjas who had survived the fighting without great injury, and had taken over the ANBU until such a time as a true leader could be found to rebuild the forces.

"You can't keep holding it in, Naruto," Kakashi said knowingly. His face was masked, but he still managed to radiate an aura of intense concern. He looked away from Naruto to the blue sky, taking a moment to locate a bird and point at it. "See, Naruto? Even birds make mistakes and injure themselves, breaking their wings. But that's okay. They don't have to fly when their wings are broken."

Naruto looked toward the bird, who was flying freely through the trees. "But the other birds don't know how to fix a broken wing," he said unhappily. "They can't fix it. It just has to keep going."

Kakashi frowned. He sat down next to the man who had once been his pupil in just another rookie Genin Squad, hopelessly naive to the cruelty of the world, the man who was now the heart of all the village. "That's where people come in, Naruto. Birds don't –– can't –– understand the pain you're feeling, Naruto. But your friends are worried about you. Sai especially. He finally figured out how to feel emotions again, only to feel loss through the War, and now worry at your sadness," Kakashi said. He took a long moment to think before adding in a low voice, "I'm worried too."

Naruto sighed deeply and looked back to the village. "I can't relax, Kakashi. There's much to be done. I don't have time to mourn."

Kakashi shook his head. "The War is over, the Village Hidden in the Leaves has been repaired, those who were injured have been healed as much as the medic nins are able to heal them. There is nothing for you to do. Nothing to fix."

Naruto laughed. "People don't need me to 'fix' anything they can _see,_ Kakashi," he said. His eyes shone with a wisdom born from compassion and sympathy, a deep understanding of suffering born through a life of frustration and sorrow –– and yet his eyes sparked with also a hope and trust in the future, never dulled through the dark times when everything seemed hopeless. He smiled. "They need someone to look up to. After the Third Ninja World War, they had my father to look up to," he explained. He shifted so that he legs were out from under him, kicking them in the air lazily. "After the Nine-Tails attacked, they looked up to Old Man Hokage. After Old Man Hokage was murdered, Old Granny Tsunade was there for them."

Kakashi sighed. "And now it's your turn?"

"Yep!" Naruto said. "I have a lot to live up to, after all. And they already know from the War just how powerful I am, how dedicated I am to the village, how much I love the village." He frowned. "It would figure that it would take a World War to make a village that shunned me turn me into their greatest champion to date."

Kakashi was silent for a long while. ". . . Are you sure? Can you bear this burden?"

"Yes," Naruto said confidently. "I can bear it. For those who died, and for those who are still alive."

"Your coronation as Hokage is in three months."

"That's right," Naruto said.

Kakashi sighed. "You're not making this easy. I think that you need a vacation away from all this. The War only just ended a little over two months ago. We finished the repairs only a week ago. You've had no time to mourn. No time to think on what you saw. You were too young for War, like I was, but I was just one of many recognized Ninja. I had a great deal of time. Not three months before being tied to the village forever."

Naruto laughed with a touch of bitterness, standing up and holding his arms around him in a widely encompassing motion. "Where would I go, Kakashi? Tell me, where would I go where I would find those who did not know of my actions in the War? Even if I did leave the village, all the other villages hail me as a hero. I would not escape these pressures."

Kakashi stood up and started to walk away. Before he started down the Monument to the rest of the elite guard squad, he turned back for a moment. "There might be a way. If you're willing to try." And then he was gone.

Naruto did not know how long he stood there, or how long he had been stuck in his memories. Either way, when the sun was on the horizon and preparing to retire for the night, he left for his apartment with a quiet focus. The Ninjas in his path cleared the way in respect, and the Civilians pointed and grinned, whispering to each other. _There's Uzumaki Naruto! –– That's the son of the Fourth! –– The hero of the War is standing there! –– That's our Sixth Hokage!_

~ oOo ~

"Fine. I give up."

Kakashi grinned. Though Naruto had grown into a man capable of bearing the hopes and dreams of Ninjas all across the world, Naruto would always be the same in some ways. Almost. Kakashi felt a frown threatening to overcome his face when he remembered that his student's carefree attitude and happy grins were now mostly reserved for his closest friends, instead of how Naruto had once given them away freely to all those he saw. Nonetheless, his student would always be unceasingly curious about the secrets others kept.

"Hm?" Kakashi asked, peering around his book and pretending to not know what his student was talking about.

"You know perfectly well what I mean, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said. "Where can I go?"

Kakashi dropped his book, his ruse seen through completely. "Oh, just a place called the Outside World."

"Outside World? Where's that?"

Kakashi grinned. "If you had payed attention in the Academy, you would know."

Naruto gritted his teeth in irritation. "We all know that I barely passed the Academy's paper exams, Kakashi-sensei. Get to the point!"

"Well . . ." Kakashi said, enjoying the way Naruto was barely restraining himself from flying toward his sensei with the intent of tackling him to the ground and jumping up and down on him, before throwing him off the Hokage Tower. Repeatedly. Or at least something along those lines, if Naruto's death glare and barely restrained dark aura was any indication. "The Elemental Nations are surrounded by a territorial barrier created by the first Kages. According to the ancient laws, only SS-Rank ninja are permitted to pass without restraint. Not even the Akatsuki went through the barrier. And not even I know exactly what lays beyond these nations of ours. It would be an adventure."

Naruto sighed, raising a hand to swipe it through his wild blond hair. "The Council would never go for it. No other Leaf Ninja is capable of becoming Hokage. They wouldn't risk it."

"Ah," Kakashi disagreed, smiling. "Not if you took a Squad with you. The ancient laws allow that. The guards could just follow you and leave you to yourself except in an emergency."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "And I suppose your name and Sai's just happen to be at the top of the volunteer list?"

"Coincidently . . . yes," Kakashi said without remorse, grinning so widely that his visible eye was shut.

"Well then," Naruto said, pausing. He broke out into a bright grin. "What're we waitin' for?! Let's go! Adven~ture! Adven~ture! Ha-ha!"

"I thought you would say that."

Yes, some things would never change, even if there were two gaping holes to either side of Naruto, with matching holes within the boy's heart where his teammates should have been when he finally was at the brink of completing his dream.

~ oOo ~

The Council sat at their places, whispering among each other.

_"He can't––"_

_"––ceremony is too soon––"_

_"Shouldn't we––?"_

_"But he does deserve a break after the War . . ."_

_"He promised to bring along guards––"_

Naruto sighed. This small action caused the room to quiet and focus on him. Though they had been troublesome for the Third and Fifth Hokages, the current members of the Council had fought with Naruto on the field, and they knew that they could trust Naruto. If that trust failed, they knew that Naruto had the power to just barge out of the room and drag any four ninjas with him as his guard –– no matter their rank –– and just leave the nations for a vacation even without their approval.

Shizune, the Councilwoman representing the medic ninjas and greatly respected student of the deceased Fifth Hokage, raised a hand to silence the room completely. She leaned forward to concentrate on the seventeen-year-old boy in front of her. "Are you sure, Naruto?" she asked. "Would this really help you?"

"I'm sure," Naruto said gently. "The War . . . being on the front lines and fighting against Tobi . . . I was able to do it, and I could do it again if I had to, but a little vacation would be just perfect before I become Hokage."

"Even to the Outside World?" Shizune's worried voice rang out through the large chamber, echoing off the walls because no other Ninja or Civilian would dare even breath while listening to their next Hokage's answer.

Naruto smiled sadly. "It's the only place I would get some peace."

Shizune and Naruto were silent for a moment, Shizune looking into Naruto's eyes and trying to determine what he was thinking and Naruto looking into hers to attempt to show her how much he had grown, how safe he would be.

Shizune sat back suddenly, sighing with resignation. "Go on," she said at last. "I could never stop you anyway."

"Thanks!" Naruto said with a grin.

"But if you need anything––" and here Shizune glared and stressed the word. "––feel free to call for any of my medic ninjas."

"Sure, sure!" Naruto said. _"Now I wonder how much ramen I can fit if I stack them in sealing scrolls before stuffing my provisions bag . . . Do they even have ramen in the Outside World? Oh no! I better have Kakashi pack some extra just in case. Now that would be a real emergency!"_ he mumbled to himself, nodding firmly.

The Council barely refrained from collectively facepalming. Though their next Hokage was a great warrior and a wise man, he was also a (lovable) idiot at times. A very, very ramen-obsessed (lovable) idiot. Like a certain Fourth Hokage, to those few who were old enough to remember.

~ oOo ~

Kakashi sat on the windowsill as he watched Naruto pack his bags. "Don't forget clothes," he reminded his leader half sarcastically. "You can always leave one of your Toad Summons here and just reverse summon some ramen if the Outside World truly doesn't have any."

Naruto whirled around wildly from his place in front of a large suitcase filled with a few dozen sealing scrolls and a couple extra ramen cups. His eyes were wide in total disbelief.

"What?" Kakashi asked defensively.

Naruto's eyes filled with tears as he tackled his sensei with a bear hug. "You are a genius, Kakashi-sensei!" he exclaimed.

Kakashi blinked his single eye. "O . . . kay?" he said, making his answer sound more like a question than a statement.

"No, really, sensei!" Naruto said. "You are the greatest sensei ever! Why didn't I think of that? Woo-hoo! Ramen! Ramen-ramen-ramen! How I love you sooo!" he sang as he began to unload the suitcase, which began groaning in pitiful relief.

At that moment, Sai ducked through the window. "It's almost time to go, Hokage-sama," he said to Naruto. "Are you ready?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "No! Here, help me! You grab some shirts and –– Kakashi, you grab –– no, wait ––" Naruto's face was twisted in confusion as he tried to hurry in his packing.

Yamanaki Ino snorted as she jumped through the window after Sai and kicked the poor, confused Ninja aside, the teenage boy dropping his armful of shirts to the ground and finding his face planted in the pile of clean laundry.

"Okay, you male idiots!" she said, dropping her foot on Sai's back to keep him down and shouting in a reasonable impression of her best friend Nara Shikamaru when he was completely serious and would kick everybody's butt if they did not obey his every word exactly when he said it. "You're all horrible at packing –– public fact, sorry, –– so Naruto, you get your unmentionables and I'll pack everything else," she said.

She then proceeded to completely ignore the trio of boys as he opened Naruto's closet wide and planted a hand on her hip as she murmured to herself in thought. "We'll need some long-sleeved shirts, sweaters, boots, and jackets just in case the Outside World is cold, and then on the other hand we'll need some shorts, t-shirts, and sunscreen just in case it's hot ––" The rest of her words were mumbled so inaudibly that no one could make them out.

When Ino realized that Naruto was still frozen in shock, she whirled around with a glare. "Now, Uzumaki!" she barked.

"Y-Yes, Ma'am!" Naruto said with a salute, running off to his dresser.

Kakashi followed Naruto with a grin. "Boy, you're pathetic. Afraid of a girl."

"I heard that, Hatake!" a female yell echoed from Ino's turned back.

Kakshi sweatdropped. "I meant to say, Ino is such a lovely person and we should all listen. Yep, that's totally what I meant."

Naruto grinned and looked back at his former sensei. "Boy, you're pathetic," he repeated with a grin.

"And I heard that too, Uzumaki!"

Naruto flinched. "I meant to say, Ino's such a smart young lady and I should get back to what she told me to do," he amended.

"Much better, Uzumaki. Just be glad you're gonna be the Sixth Hokage or I would'a punched you right where you stand. Your lazy excuse for a sensei, too."

Sai finally managed to stand up from where he'd been primarily forced to the floor by Ino's kick and from where Ino had proceeded to toss clothing that did not pass her standards from Naruto's closet in a pile over the Ninja. As he kicked off a shirt from his leg, he frowned. "And what did I do to deserve your wrath, Miss Piggy?"

"That's what you did, you little creep! I am not Miss Piggy! I am the beautiful and talented Yamanaka-sama!"

"Miss Piggy-sama?" Sai tried.

"_Yamanaka_-sama, twerp!" Ino shrieked, once again kicking him and forcing him to flee from Naruto's room through the window.

Naruto sighed. "I'm starting to get what Old Man Hokage and Old Granny Tsunade meant when they said they hated it when people jumped in through the window. People at the window don't knock, so you can't pretend you're not at home."

~ oOo ~

A short while later, a small group of Naruto's closet friends came to privately send him off. Those who had noticed him holding a large traveling backpack while heading for the gate and followed him –– adding a couple dozen to the small gathering –– but Naruto did not mind. They appeared to be happy for his vacation. After all, unlike when the Sound Village had been threatening them and they could not appear weak, the other Ninja Villages were all at peace and none of them had a grudge against the Leaf Village. The office of Hokage could remain empty for a short while without risk.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaimed with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Watching your oblivious butt," Shikamaru replied with a deadpan face, lifting his traveling pack higher onto his back. "You know that if you somehow die during this vacation of yours, they're going to stick me with the job. No thank you," he said with a snort. "Being Jonin Commander is more than enough."

"But you have to stay here to take care of the village while I'm gone," Naruto said. "Shizune can't do it by herself, and Kakashi's coming with me."

Shikamaru shrugged. "The Council can deal with it. I'm coming with you. If I'm lucky, we'll find ourselves in a nice, warm place with lots of grass and clouds."

"You'd still rather cloud-watch than lead a village?" Naruto asked with some measure of disbelief.

"You bet. Odds are, I'm not going to get another three-month vacation for as long as I live," Shikamaru said with a determined frown. "I'm making use of this chance now."

Naruto grinned with a nostalgic twinkle in his eye. "Same old Shikamaru."

"Same old lazy Shikamaru," Ino snorted from her place behind him. "While me, Kakashi, and Sai are all going to be taking shifts watching your back, Shikamaru's probably going to refuse to do any work at all –– you've never been in a Three-Man-Squad with him, Hokage-sama. Once they get started, there's no stopping the Nara men from completely retreating from reality."

"Well, I trust you'll remind him of his duties," Naruto said with a smile toward the Yamanka Clan Heiress.

"Oh," Ino said with a smirk, blond bangs causing a shadow to appear around her eyes. "It would be my pleasure."

Shikamaru's eyes widened in horror. "You're taking the she-barbarian too?!" he exclaimed in disbelief, taking a few steps backward. "Um, I take it back –– I'll gladly watch over the village while you're gone!" he said, turning around to race away. Before he could fully scamper off, Ino was standing with a sweet smile at his side, a hand on his shoulder with a grip tight and unescapable.

"Oh, but you can't leave now," Ino said. "We're going to have so much fun!"

"NOOOO! SAVE ME! CURSE YOU, NARUTO! YOU KNEW ALL ALONG!"

~ oOo ~

Iruka blinked as he heard the cry for help, watering his garden with a purple polka dot watering can. "I thought I just heard the famous Nara clan Shiek of Doom. Hm, must'a just been my imagination. I bet Naruto's already left the village by now. Too bad I couldn't see him off –– but I have to set an example for my Academy students."

He turned around back to his house with a cheerful whistle.

~ oOo ~

Silence.

Naruto blinked at the sight before him. ". . . Are you sure we're in the right place?"

"Yep!" Kakashi said with a grin, completely ignoring the frowns and glares turned in his direction. "The map said so!"

"So why is there nothing here?" Ino questioned. "There should be some sort of woooo, sparkling magical barrier around here. Instead, all I see is sand. Lots and lots of sand."

"And sand," Sai added helpfully with a smile.

"Thank you, creep," Ino said. She turned a deceivingly sweet smile toward Kakashi. "As Sai has commented,_ and sand._"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and said dryly, "With a whole boatload of sand."

"Aw, c'mon, guys," Kakashi said in protest. "The map said it would be right here."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Right here?" she questioned. "Kakashi, we're in the _middle of nowhere_."

"Well," Kakashi said, studying the map, "Actually, we're supposed to be . . . right . . . here –– oof!"

Ino walked past Kakashi to the currently visible horseshoe shaped barrier, which now had a faceprint of Kakashi in one of its supports. "So this is the barrier to the Outside World, hm? I wonder what's on the other side."

She peeked through, seeing only a cement road hearing a loud "BEEP-BEEP-BEEEEEEP!" She looked toward the sound only to see a large monster machine heading straight toward her head at high speeds, lights on the front of the machine half-blinding her. She pulled her head back inside the barrier hurriedly. "Eeek!"

"What is it?" Naruto questioned worriedly.

Ino tried to remember where she'd seen the large monster machine before. Suddenly, it occurred to her. "It's one of those machines that the Spring Princess told us about, those things even more rare than trains."

"Oh, you mean cars?" Kakashi questioned.

"Yeah, those!" Ino said, holding a hand to her stomach to regain her breath. "Sorry about that, Hokage-sama. Now that I know that those cars are there, I can avoid them easily."

"So they're not as fast as trains?" Naruto hoped.

Ino shook her head. "Nope. Not the ones I know of, anyway. I've only been to Spring Country once."

Naruto nodded his head. "Okay then. Kakashi-sensei, you're head of the team for know. Shikamaru will take over if I am in mortal peril or am missing. Stay out of sight, keep a close eye, but otherwise just relax. The few records I managed to find said that the people in the Outside World don't use chakra, so they're all Civilians."

"Aye, aye, sir!" Kakashi said sarcastically. "Well, better hurry up."

Naruto sighed. "All right, all right. Fine. I'll see you in three months –– though _you're_ forced to watch me twenty-four-seven. Sucks to be you, huh?" With that, Naruto jumped through the portal without further conversation. He was looking forward to his vacation, he really was.

If only he knew that his vacation would not be nearly as eventless as he had initially anticipated.

* * *

_To Be Continued . . ._

_Please Review_


	2. Stuttgart, Germany

** ~ oOo ~ A Strange Vacation ~ oOo ~**

by ChocolateCherryGenesis

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Naruto_ or the _Avengers_

**Published**: March 6, 2013

**Notes**: Sorry it took so long. I just wasn't really happy with the sudden jump between Naruto's arrival on earth and meeting Loki and I'm not experienced with writing fight scenes, but in the end I figured it was the best it was going to get unless I obsessed over it. As usual, please enjoy and tell me what you think I can improve on. Further thoughts . . . Well, this chapter is a lot more serious than the last one, but that's really only appropriate for a fight. Also, no, I am not going to make Naruto too powerful, he's pretty evenly matched with Loki but both of them are still holding back their best moves.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Stuttgart, Germany

* * *

_When the boy turned back from the destroyed pole, Loki felt an intense aura happily blossom into the air. Compared to now, the boy's attitude from before was the same as when one meets another person in a contest and only humors their skills so as not to offend them. Now the boy's blue eyes glittered with icy fire and a smirk fell onto his face, hands twitching as they wished to meet the challenge of the person they had found worthy of such seriousness._

* * *

Naruto walked through the barrier, feeling as if he had walked through a shallow pool of water. As he caught sight of a large metal object –– the machines Ino was speaking of –– approaching his location at an alarming speed, he quickly leapt upwards into the air and grabbed ahold of the object, flipping onto its roof and heart beating wildly against his ribcage.

Huh. So this was a "car." It thrummed beneath his hands, jolting as it hit small bumps in the road.

Even though it was dark outside, Naruto flattened himself onto the red colored roof so as to avoid being seen. 1 He twisted his head backward to catch a glance of Ino once again poking her head onto the road. This time, when she saw a car approaching she stuck out her hand to grab a ride like Naruto instead of screaming.

Naruto could not actually see the barrier, but he could sense a huge combination of genjutsu and ninjutsu concentrated on the area where it was. He wondered how the people of this world could not sense it. Then he remembered that these people did not have ninja, and they couldn't sense energy.

He closed his eyes, abandoning his five senses so that he could better focus on chakra –– using his sixth sense. The world turned gray, with chakra burning a bright silver color. The plantlife around him glowed with pale white, speckled with the brightness of Life. The civilians in the cars also glowed with this same pale white, but they also glittered with dancing sparks of silver. The other ninjas, however, appeared to be miniature stars to his eyes.

He waited until he could sense the chakra signatures of all four of his ninjas before opening his eyes and releasing his focus. This trick, of being able to sense chakra in an almost visible form, had actually been created by the efforts of Neji and Hinata Hyuga during the war. It was an S-Rank jutsu named _Fluttering of Wings,_ 2 because of the way that the world seemed to flutter when the jutsu was in use, because chakra was not limited to its physical containers. It was created to copy the strength of the Hyuga's "All-Seeing Eyes." Many of the major leaders of the war had been taught the jutsu after it had been completed and polished for use. It took a lot of chakra, but that wasn't exactly a problem for Naruto.

After he saw all his ninja safely enter this new world, Naruto stopped focusing on the jutsu. He opened his eyes, and for a moment he could still see everything in different shades of gray and silver. Then, as his sixth sense was shut down and his other five senses kicked in, the world became awash in bright color.

On the edges of the cement road, he saw long rows of poles with lights on top. Just like their own streetlights, though these were made of plastic while no one in their right mind would make streetlights in a ninja village out of anything but strong metal. Especially in the Leaf Village, which favored fire element jutsu.

Naruto wordlessly crouched and jumped upward like a cat, clutching onto the streetlamp and clinging to it as he hung above the road. He took a quick look around himself, before jumping down out of sight. He could hear the other ninjas follow him, but he had already given them their orders. For now, he was going to ignore them. Quite happily, in fact. After all, he was on vacation.

Unfortunately, there were not any trees nearby. This area appeared to be a large grassland. Drat. A fair distance ahead, Naruto could spot the faint lights of a small town. Without another thought, he ran ahead faster than humans were typically capable of, kicking up dust behind him.

~ oOo ~

Naruto held the travel guide in his hand, flipping through it while trying to figure out where he wanted to go. Thankfully, he could make his way to any of these places, because he would be equally out of place within any country and he didn't have any of their money. Naruto would have to fix that –– but that wouldn't be hard to do. He would just sell some of the things that he had brought along just for this purpose.

A few random books to a bookshop. A few knickknacks to an antique store. Just enough things to sell so that he could buy himself clothing from this world and be able to pay for food and hotel rooms.

Since Naruto had no clue what he was doing, he simply shrugged and stuck a world map to the side of the building he was sitting next to with a kunai. Then he clapped a hand over his eyes, spun in circles like a tornado, and randomly tossed a shuriken at the map.

Naruto removed his hand from his face and peeked open one eye. Then he opened them both and walked to the map, noting what country the shuriken had hit.

"Huh. Germany. I wonder what that country is like?"

~ oOo ~

Naruto's face was blank as he walked through the streets of Stuttgart, hands in his pockets.

After learning that the clothing of the Elemental Countries was slightly different from the world outside, Naruto had changed from his orange and black jumpsuit and brown cloak into something a little less eye catching. Though he had mourned the loss of his jumpsuit for what would be the next few months, Naruto knew that he would never get the chance for such anonymity again. So, the jumpsuit had to go goodbye with a heartfelt farewell of many tears into his suitcase –– at least until he went home and made orange the official color of the Hokage.

Instead, Naruto dressed in a simple pair of black trousers and a black t-shirt with a leaf symbol dyed onto the front in a nice, bright red, over a long sleeved white shirt. On his feet were simple blue sneakers bought a few days into his vacation –– and what a nice invention those rubber soled shoes were, with the exception that they squeaked on too many surfaces. And it was slightly strange, because his toes could not move as much nor give him quite as much balance as his sandals did.

His forehead protector was tucked into his backpack (also a new purchase) at all times, along with his emergency supplies. Thanks to the cold weather –– and the fact that no one around him had the ability to warm themselves with a small amount of chakra and would give him funny looks if he braved the cold weather in a t-shirt –– Naruto had been forced to wear a jacket though he did not really feel cold at all.

Though he was enjoying being away from the village and in this fascinating land, he was still bothered by memories of the war. He didn't want to be annoying and whiny about it, but Naruto was still plagued by uncertaintly. Sure, he wanted to become Hokage. But was he ready?

The village needed a strong person to lead them, but was that person Naruto? If nothing else the war had taught Naruto to put aside his own desires for the sake of other people. With steady nightmares and regretful thoughts, Naruto was unsure if he would be stable enough for his duty. Naruto was also rather certain that he had some measure of insanity, which always clung to ninjas but especially to the boy burdened from birth with the Nine-Tailed Fox. Naruto needed to stay strong and solid, but he wasn't sure if he could do it. He would try, certainly, and the war had not changed his hopes and dreams, but sometimes that worry just crept into his head and refused to leave . . .

Naruto heard a cry. His ears perked up and he turned around

"And I was so enjoying my vacation, too," Naruto sighed to himself, feeling the childish urge to pout.

Currently, Naruto was standing in the midst of a small group of people, watching a group of fancily dressed people run out of some sort of extravagant party and onto the streets of Stuttgart, Germany.

Naruto had been walking along, minding his own business, and then he got caught up in the only dangerous thing he had seen in the last two entire months on a foreign planet. And this time it wasn't even his fault! Two months of relaxation, ease, and seeing how much fun stress he could put his guards through, down the drain.

Well, back to the chaos.

A black haired man dressed in black with green and gold accents walked out of the doors of the lavish party, his normal clothes fading away in the air to be replaced by some form of warrior's outfit. Naruto was vaguely surprised, since this outfit better matched some of the ninja styles than it did the styles of this world. Well, accept the man's helmet, which just might be even stranger than Tobi's mask.

"Kneel," the man commanded, as if he actually expected them to obey him so readily.

The crowd ignored the command in favor of a panicked stampede in the opposite direction. Naruto jumped back from a particularly wild young woman, who was flailing her arms for no apparent reason other than to show just how scared she was as she screeched in a way that would put a mythical banshee to shame.

This stampede appeared to irritate the man with the weird helmet a great deal. Copies of him started to form around the crowd, keeping any of them from escaping.

"I said . . ." the man started, then, together with all his copies, the man bellowed out in a loud, harsh voice, shout echoing through his clones with a ring of anger, "KNEEL!"

The people around Naruto fell to their knees in a great wave. Naruto narrowed his eyes. Oh, heck no, he mentally complained. I did _not_ win a nearly hopeless war against a man with time and space twisting abilities just to bow to some loser in a cape with a ugly helmet.

"Is this not simpler?" the man asked rhetorically, grinning in false concern and understanding. "Is this not––" He froze suddenly, spinning around to glare at the one human who had not fallen to his knees.

". . . What is your name, mortal?" the man snapped after getting over his short second of surprise.

"_Mortal_?" Naruto echoed in disbelief. He took a step forward with a dark, annoyed look on his face. "Pal, that's some arrogance you got going there. The name's Naruto Uzumaki –– and I'm gonna become Hokage."

Naruto momentarily realized that this was the first time that he had said _I am going to be Hokage_ and had also known it for certain truth, instead of just a wild dream. It brought a feeling of deep warmth to his chest.

"Well, boy . . ." the dark haired man said. "You will soon learn to kneel to your betters!" He sprang forward in a blur of motion, a speed greater than that of any civilian that Naruto had ever seen before. Well, it was possible that another energy like chakra had been discovered by these people, so, then again, maybe not quite civilian . . .

The man's magic Malicious Shining Staff of Ultimate Doom –– or whatever the heck it was –– glowed with a poisonous blue light. Naruto did not have a single clue as to exactly what the staff was or what it was made for, but he knew for sure what the staff was about to do with him right now. Bad guy lowering a couple inches closer to the ground to help with balance and obviously bracing himself for a high energy output? It was pretty easy to figure out.

Yeah, I want to see hands. Is it A, a microphone? B, a firework? Or C, a projectile weapon?

Normally, Naruto would have panicked to see such a device in the hands of his enemies. But, then again, this man was not showing the capability of a ninja, even if he was far above a civilian. Therefore, Naruto was relatively sure that he could dodge anything this guy could send at him. After all, none of his squad of guards had shown themselves yet, so they obviously were of the same opinion. (3)

As the blue streak of what appeared to be something similar to lightning flew in his direction, Naruto jumped over the beam and tossed his feet over his head, flipping over and landing a short distance away in a crouch. Before the man with the helmet could continue his barrage, Naruto darted toward him at around a fraction of his true speed and attempted to kick the staff out of his hand. The cameras that Naruto could see all over the place were likely recording his every move and he wasn't quite stupid enough to show any of these people everything he could do.

Surprisingly, the man with the helmet actually managed to keep his grip on the staff and then swung around, gaining momentum and trying to slam the side of the staff into Naruto's head. Naruto ducked, dropping to the ground and kicking at the man's legs.

The man jumped over Naruto's kicks and aimed his staff at Naruto again. Naruto's mind froze for a split second –– he was running straight into the beam! ––before recovering in the next instant, trying to stop his forward momentum and leaning backward sharply.

The beam slammed into a pole behind him with a thundering _boom_. Naruto felt a slightly nervous smile slip onto his face as he turned for a moment to access that damage done to the pole.

The metal pole was currently embedded into the cement and was surrounded by burn marks.

The slightly nervous smile turned into something between a confident smirk and an excited grin. Naruto's eyes lit up with the challenge. He turned his head back in the direction of the man with the helmet, who appeared to sense the difference in Naruto's attitude and whose eyes widened in _almost_ completely hidden surprise as Naruto upped his speed and started his next assault with a manic show of a full set of teeth.

Perhaps this vacation was not going to be as boring as he had started to fear after all . . .

~ oOo ~

Loki followed the screaming people of the mortal gathering out of their hall, smirking at the sight of their panic. They were little more then sheep, really, unable to make their own decisions and relying upon others for their worthless lives, he thought.

Loki's plans were going well, and the trickster deity prepared to make a scene for SHEILD so that they would arrest him and bring him onto their main base, a rather interesting flying ship.

"Kneel," he ordered.

As he was completely ignored, Loki became irritated by them. He made copies of himself to pen them in, before commanding once again, "KNEEL!"

The humans fell to their knees almost instantly, looking up at him pitifully.

Loki's face twisted into an expression of fake concern and understanding, yet another mask in his collection. "Is this not simpler?" he asked. "Is this not––"

Loki froze. On the edge of his vision, he had seen one of them still standing, resisting him. He spun around to face the man with such foolish courage.

To his surprise, he found himself looking at, not a man, but a boy. The boy was standing calmly with his hands tucked into his pockets as he stared unhesitatingly back. The mortal had spiking golden hair, longer than most Midgardians but not as long as Thor's. The boy's blue eyes blazed with a power that no mortal he had yet seen before among these people possessed. They were strangely old eyes, as if they had seen many things –– some good, some bad –– and expected to see many things more.

Loki almost simply forced the boy to the ground with his magic with the intent to ignore him. After all, this was a mere boy who probably didn't really know any better. But Loki's pride could not allow something like this from any Midgardian, no matter the age. They would all bow to their superiors or die learning better!

". . . What is your name, mortal?" Loki asked.

The boy's eyes flamed with annoyance and insult. "_Mortal_?" the human questioned darkly. "Pal, that's some arrogance you got going there. The name's Naruto –– and I'm gonna become Hokage."

Loki had no knowledge of the word _Hokage_. It sounded like some foreign tongue upon Midgard. But these thoughts faded easily away as Loki became consumed by anger at the boy's disrespect.

"Well, boy . . ." Loki said. "You will soon learn to kneel to your betters!" he snarled. Loki sprang forward with the speed of an immortal toward the ignorant boy. He braced himself, powering up his staff and aiming it unhesitatingly straight at the boy's heart.

It should have killed the boy. It would have killed the boy. There was absolutely no possible explanation for what followed. Loki could not accept that a Midgardian could so easily match him.

The boy jumped an impossible length into the air, curling his legs and placing them above his head. He appeared like a bird, soaring effortlessly upside down with his hands still tucked casually into his pockets before slamming a hand onto the cement and twisting himself back to the ground. Loki was so surprised at the turn of events that he paused a short moment before trying to fire again.

In that short moment, the boy ran forward with something closer to the speed of an Asgardian warrior than any mortal's speed. The boy raised his foot into the air, obviously aiming for the staff, so he could knock it out of Loki's hands.

Loki felt the entire staff shudder at the strength of the kick. As he spun around to slam his staff into the boy's head, Loki's hands ached deeply from the jarring strike. He tried to read his opponent's next move as he often did in battle, but this particular Midgardian's face was completely closed off and provided on clue as to his thoughts.

The boy immediately lowered himself under the staff, avoiding it neatly and planting his hands on the ground while attempting to kick Loki's legs. Loki was momentarily surprised at the action –– after all, the Asgardians usually preferred to be more straightforward while in battle. Trying to trip an opponent was a strategy that usually only Loki himself employed.

Nevertheless, the trickster deity leapt over the human and lowered his staff to shoot once again. The human had backed away once he had seen that his kicks had not worked, and was running to the side hoping to flank Loki.

Before the human could do this, Loki aimed his staff at the boy and fired. Loki had the Midgardian! The boy was running directly into Loki's blast! He would not be able to stop in time!

But the boy did.

The Midgardian's eyes focused on the blast as it approached. His eyes widened in his shock, his entire body freezing for the smallest of moments, but immediately afterward the boy forced himself to bend backwards, the tips of his hair almost brushing the cement. This feat caused the blast to miss and to instead flow over his stomach by less than a hand's breadth.

A slight note of panic entered the boy's eyes as the beam slammed into the metal pole. A smile touched by nervousness dropped onto the boy's face. Unlike before, when the boy would attack without pause, this time he dared to look behind him at the pole which had been hit in his stead.

When the boy turned back from the destroyed pole, Loki felt an intense aura happily blossom into the air. Compared to now, the boy's attitude from before was the same as when one meets another person in a contest and only humors their skills so as not to offend them. Now the boy's blue eyes glittered with icy fire and a smirk fell onto his face, hands twitching as they wished to meet the challenge of the person they had found worthy of such seriousness.

Loki stumbled for a moment, eyes wide in shock. This was the aura of a great warrior such as the likes of Thor –– but this aura was not quite the same. It was a little larger than Thor's. It was not the aura of simply a great warrior but also a great leader. The only person he could compare this to was Odin Allfather, whose aura was indeed stronger than the boy's. But that a mere mortal could have an aura at all, much less such a strong one . . .

Loki sensed the next attack before he saw it. The boy sprang forward at a far greater speed than he had before, which forced Loki to use his own true speed to block him. Again, Loki's hands ached with the force of the blow, though this time he had to concentrate to keep a firm hold on his staff.

Even as the boy kept one hand on the staff to keep it stationary while bringing the other for a punch toward the trickster deity's face, Loki felt some of his thoughts spin away.

How could a mere mortal have such strength and speed? Loki's share of these gifts was far superior to any normal Midgardian, even if among others like himself he was not the strongest nor the fastest. Even in Asgard, Loki was known for his speed even if his strength was lower than most.

Loki had originally planned to simply stall until a few of the Midgardians of SHEILD found him. Now he was actually concentrating upon the fight. He had expected to only have to truly focus when going into battle with the Man of Iron, Thor, or perhaps the Soldier. But Agent Barton had not told him of any golden haired boy with strength at the level of an Asguardian and surpassing it.

So, then, even SHEILD did not know of this human . . . Loki shivered as realization dawned in his eyes.

The boy had only been _toying_ with him. Now the boy knew that Loki was strong and was actually trying to defeat him.

Somehow, Loki felt that perhaps this was not a good thing.

~ oOo ~

Steve Rogers –– also known as Captain America, hero of World War II –– crouched on a nearby roof and waited for an opportune moment to step in. His concentration was completely focused on the scene below him, trying to find some opening that he could take advantage of.

When the aircraft he had boarded had first arrived in Germany, the SHIELD operatives inside had seen Loki fire a beam of light toward a golden haired boy who had refused to kneel before him, the agents too far away to actually help but close enough to clearly watch.

To the surprise of all, the boy actually _dodged_ the beam and started _fighting_ Loki. Loki, the man who had killed eighty people in the last two days, was having trouble with a teenage _boy_.

Captain America turned on his radio and informed the local police force to evacuate the rest of the civilians, who were already a good two or three blocks away from the area. Though he was worried for the boy, the fact was that the boy was able to keep up with Loki while everyone else seemed to be sitting ducks. To best avoid deaths, Steve had to get those innocent people away from Loki while Loki was occupied and guard their evacuation.

Captain America knew that, at this point, his help was unwanted and so far unneeded. If he dropped down from the roof he was on, he would disrupt the concentration of both of them –– the boy and Loki. It was completely unknown who would recover first. If he distracted the boy, Loki could kill him before Captain America could get him away.

Though Steve Rogers hated it, he still waited for a moment to jump in. As of yet, the moment had not presented itself. He held his shield at the ready to deflect any strike of Loki's should Loki get too close to the boy. His other hand grasped the edge of the roof, keeping himself near the edge but still on building. The cement under his hand cracked just the slightest bit, but remained unnoticed in favor of much more important things.

Captain America watched with awe as the boy ducked backwards to avoid the blue beam of light that reminded him bitterly of a Hydra weapon. From that moment on, the fight was no longer a simple fight between two strong –– but still vaguely normal –– people.

Both Loki and the boy blurred, at one moment fighting each other at one end of the street and the next moment fighting on the opposite side. At one point, they both attempted to flank each other over and over and over again. Loki's form blurred, only to swirl around the boy and reappear behind with his staff raised for a stab. Then the boy's form blurred, only to reappear behind Loki and in the air, knee pointed downward at Loki's head. Then Loki again blurred behind the boy, this time with a blast from his staff at the ready. Then the boy was behind Loki, this time on the ground, foot aimed at Loki's chin as the man turned to face him. Again and again and again.

Captain America could barely believe his eyes. This was the type of speed that he could reach if he concentrated –– he had not thought that Loki was quite capable of it, Asgardian legend or not, nor that this strange golden haired boy could do anything like it.

Captain America finally just shook his head and proceeded to climb down from the roof and attempt to get closer to the fighting pair. He could not simply stand aside while a fight of this magnitude was going on nearby! As each second passed, he became more and more worried for the wellbeing of the boy, and also more suspicious of his origins.

~ oOo ~

"You are insane," Iron Man remarked to Jarvis, flying at top speed toward Germany. "I must have made a mistake in your programming. There's_ no way_ a kid is taking on Loki!"

"I'm afraid, sir," the British accented voice belonging to the AI replied, "that there is no mistake in my programming. A male five foot five blond teenager with blue eyes has been verified by SHIELD's cameras to be fighting Loki on somewhat equal ground."

Iron Man took a moment to think that over. "But are you _sure_?" he asked yet again.

Jarvis sighed wearily. "Sir, I've already checked SHEILD's data and used my own software to verify and _then_ I proceeded to run a dozen re-checks. I'm sure."

Iron Man shook his head. "You know what? We're focusing on the wrong person. The important thing here is that Loki needs to be stopped and we need to recover the Tesseract. Everything else can wait till later."

"Very well, sir," Jarvis said. "We are nearing the scene of the battle. Shall I upload your personal playlist?" he asked.

"Of course, Jarvis! Every hero needs epic background music!"

* * *

_Extra! I actually wrote an alternate version of Anthony Stark's point of view, but I thought it wasn't quite serious enough and I had to change it. I still like it, though, so here it is:_

Tony Stark –– also known as Iron Man –– ordered Jarvis to crack into the SHIELD aircraft's speaker system and play one of his favorite songs. Just a few moments after, Iron Man himself arrived at the scene to find a kid –– a _kid_! –– and Loki going toe-to-toe while Captain America stood a little distance away readying his red, white, and blue shield for an attack.

Even with his suit's advanced sensors and cameras, the pair were moving too fast to get a clear image, instead blurring in front of him and leaving afterimages.

One moment, the kid was throwing a punch toward Loki; the next, his hands were planted on the ground and both his feet were flying with the whole force of the movement toward his enemy. When that, too, was blocked (though just barely), the kid jumped back a few yards and reached into his pocket.

Before Stark's shocked eyes, the teen pulled some sort of knife out of his pocket by a circle near the end, spinning it around with confidence and ease of familiarity and then clutching it in his hand in a reverse grip. He charged toward Loki once again, this time not withdrawing when he was blocked by the staff, but instead pushing closer as if the staff was some sort of sword to be pushed away.

Loki jumped upwards in the air, his glowing staff at the ready, pointed toward the kid . . . Then Stark was there, punching Loki on the back of the head since the trickster god of legend was conveniently otherwise engaged. Loki fell, managing to land on his feet but still dazed from the unexpected blow.

"Mind if I drop in?" Iron Man asked the trio below him rhetorically. Iron Man brought forward his fist and cut off the energy going to his thrusters, thus literally "dropping in." Or, actually, Iron Man dropped _on_ –– onto Loki's face, that is. Iron Man's fist slammed onto the top of Loki's horned helmet, dropping Loki onto the ground just as surely as any other person, Asgardian Norse deity of legend or not.

"_What_?" he asked defensively.

* * *

(1) Ninja habits are SO hard to ignore, aren't they? Sorry, I just can clearly imagine Naruto and company ducking behind random objects while walking down the street for no reason.

(2) Okay, _yes_, I know, fanfiction authors like to give their characters lots of super-duper awesome unstoppable special abilities just because (I even enjoy reading those, sometimes). This isn't one. I needed a way for Naruto to SEE superpowers, and it was either this or Nine-Tailed Fox Vision. Yeah. And it has a drawback in that it needs MASSIVE amounts of chakra to use. Besides, I think that it's totally realistic that a ninja clan in a major war for the fate of the whole world would try to help their allies gain a less powerful but still pretty cool ability similar to their own. It's not nearly as good as the Byakugan, but it's still pretty powerful.

(3) Yes, in real life if an important person is under attack his personal security force would get involved no matter the odds or reasons. However, we are talking about ANIME NINJA here and the soon-to-be SIXTH HOKAGE. The security force is basically a precaution in case of that one-in-a-million chance that Naruto trips and bangs his head and blacks out for a few minutes until the Nine-Tailed Fox fixes him again (or, y'know, that even rarer chance that he gets involved in an alien invasion, but seriously, what are the odds? ^_^). Unless Naruto is in mortal danger, his friends don't want to get involved so long as they are in public with cameras recording everything (the obvious reasons being that they don't want these people appearing in the Elemental Nations and of course just plain old ninja wisdom) –– after all, one superhuman dude without records is a _lot_ easier to explain than five.

* * *

_To Be Continued . . ._

_Please Review; Constructive Criticism Welcomed!_


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